The
Portfolio invests primarily in equity securities, principally common stocks of US companies of any market
capitalization. Lazard Asset Management LLC (the “Investment Manager”), through its bottom-up,
fundamental research process, invests in companies it believes have strong and/or improving financial
productivity and are undervalued based on their earnings, cash flow or asset values. The Portfolio has
a concentrated number of investments, typically investing in 15 to 35 companies with market capitalizations
generally greater than $350 million.
It seeks to outperform broad-based securities market indices, such as the S&P 500®
Index, the Russell 1000® Index and the Russell 3000®
Index. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in
equity securities of US companies. The Portfolio may invest up to 20% of its assets in securities of
non-US companies. The Portfolio is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment
Company Act of 1940, as amended, which means that it may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets
in a limited number of issuers, when compared to a diversified fund. In addition, implementation of the
Portfolio’s investment strategy may, during certain periods, result in the investment of a significant
portion of the Portfolio’s assets in a particular market sector.
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Risk Table - Lazard Retirement US Equity Concentrated Portfolio
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Risk [Text Block] |
| Principal Investment Risks |
Principal
Investment Risks The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you
could lose money.
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| Risk Lose Money [Member] |
The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you
could lose money.
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| Market Risk |
Market Risk: The Portfolio may incur losses due to declines in one or
more markets in which it invests. These declines may be the result of, among other things, political,
regulatory, market, economic or social developments affecting the relevant market(s). To the extent that
such developments impact specific industries, market sectors, countries or geographic regions, the Portfolio’s
investments in such industries, market sectors, countries and/or geographic regions can be expected to
be particularly affected, especially if such investments are a significant portion of its investment
portfolio. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or
fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.
Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, and conditions and events in
one country, region or financial market may adversely impact issuers worldwide. As a result, local, regional
or global events such as war or military conflict, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness
or other public health issues, social unrest, natural disasters, extreme weather, other geological events,
man-made disasters, supply chain disruptions, deflation, inflation, government defaults, government shutdowns,
the imposition of sanctions or other similar measures, recessions or other events could have a significant
negative impact on global economic and market conditions. For example, a public health or other emergency
and aggressive responses taken by many governments or voluntarily imposed by private parties, including
closing borders, restricting travel and imposing prolonged quarantines or similar restrictions, as well
as the closure of, or operational changes to, many retail and other businesses, may have severe negative
impacts on markets worldwide. Additionally, general market conditions may affect the value of a Portfolio’s
securities, including changes in interest rates, currency rates or monetary policies. Furthermore, the
imposition of tariffs, trade restrictions, currency restrictions or similar actions (or retaliatory measures
taken in response to such actions), or the threat or potential of one or more such events and developments,
could lead to price volatility and overall declines in the US and global investment markets.
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| Issuer Risk |
Issuer
Risk: The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate
to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer’s
goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of
its assets or factors unrelated to the issuer’s value, such as investor perception.
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| Value Investing Risk |
Value
Investing Risk: Value investments are believed by the Investment Manager to be undervalued, but
may not realize their perceived value for extended periods of time or may never realize their perceived
value. These securities may respond differently to market and other developments than other types of
securities.
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| Small and Mid Cap Companies Risk |
Small and Mid Cap Companies Risk: Small and mid cap companies carry additional
risks because their earnings tend to be less predictable, their share prices more volatile and their
securities less liquid than larger, more established companies. The shares of small and mid cap companies
tend to trade less frequently than those of larger companies, which can have an adverse effect on the
pricing of these securities and on the ability to sell these securities when the Investment Manager deems
it appropriate.
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| Large Cap Companies Risk |
Large
Cap Companies Risk: Investments in large cap companies may underperform other segments of the market
when such other segments are in favor or because such companies may be less responsive to competitive
challenges and opportunities and may be unable to attain high growth rates during periods of economic
expansion.
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| Non-US Securities Risk |
Non-US Securities Risk: The Portfolio’s performance will
be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies
in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as less developed or less
efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and
legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. Non-US securities may be subject to economic sanctions
or other governmental actions or developments, exchange controls (including repatriation restrictions),
confiscations, trade restrictions (including tariffs) or problems related to share registration, trade
settlement or asset custody, which could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate
the Portfolio’s ability to purchase or sell certain foreign securities. To the extent the Portfolio
holds securities subject to such actions, the securities may become difficult to value and/or less liquid
(or illiquid). In some cases, the securities may become worthless. In addition, investments denominated
in currencies other than US dollars may experience a decline in value, in US dollar terms, due solely
to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Emerging market countries can generally have economic structures
that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed
countries.
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| Risk Nondiversified Status [Member] |
Non-Diversification Risk: The Portfolio’s net asset value
may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and may
be relatively more susceptible to adverse effects from any single corporate, industry, economic, market,
political or regulatory occurrence than if the Portfolio’s investments consisted of securities
issued by a larger number of issuers.
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| Sector Risk |
Sector Risk: Implementation of the Portfolio’s
investment strategy may, during certain periods, result in the investment of a significant portion of
the Portfolio’s assets in a particular market sector, such as information technology companies,
and the Portfolio would be expected to be affected by developments in that sector. Information technology
companies generally operate in intensely competitive markets on a worldwide basis. Also, because technological
development in many areas increases at a rapid rate, these companies often produce products with very
short life cycles and face the risk of product obsolescence.
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| Securities Selection Risk |
Securities Selection
Risk: Securities and other investments selected by the Investment Manager for the Portfolio
may not perform to expectations. This could result in the Portfolio’s underperformance compared
to other funds with similar investment objectives or strategies.
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| Concentration Risk |
Concentration Risk:
The Portfolio’s ability to concentrate its investments may be limited by applicable requirements
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, for qualification as a regulated investment company.
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